7.2.9. The Protective System of the Skin

The skin, together with the hair and nails, constitutes the surface of the body, taking up a meter and a half to two square metres and weighting around seven percent of the body weight, which is around four kilograms on the average.

The skin is made of two parts, the upper thinner and less sensitive part, called epidermis, and the lower, thicker part, rich in blood vessels and cells of sensory bodies, called dermis. Certain authors also consider the hypodermis, containing nerves and blood vessels, as part of the skin. The skin is not equally thick and equally sensitive in all areas. It is adjusted to the needs of the body, and consequently, the epidermis can even be several millimetres thick.

The dermis contains sebaceous and sweat glands which regulate body temperature, while the skin surface protects the body from drying up and prevents the invasion of bacteria into the body.

Skin cells from the lower layer are proliferating, they multiply, while the cells on the surface do not have a nucleus, die and peal off. Skin colour depends on the protective cells in the outer part and simultaneously on the pigment and age of the individual.

The largest part of the hair and nails is in the epidermis, while their living section is located in the dermis, interwoven by blood vessels and nerves.

The skin is constantly bombarded by external influences and sensitive to mechanical, chemical and temperature impacts. It is important to know that an organism cannot survive without skin and that the body is already in great danger when fifty percent of the surface is damaged.

Most instructions for the maintenance and healing of the skin have already been given when discussing the touch, I would only like to add that wounds caused by burns heal very quickly when using an ointment made of yolk.

The skin must regularly be cleaned and certain skin areas must appropriately be protected with ointments. One must be careful about the quality of cosmetics, which are normally not appropriate for each body, i.e. skin, since the therapy to remove the consequences of the negative influence of the components is very time-consuming and often unsuccessful.